COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women's basketball team earned a No. 5 seed in the Lexington Region of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and will play No. 12-seed Western Kentucky in the opening round on Friday, March 17 at 2:30 p.m. in Lexington.

The other game in Lexington on Friday will pit No. 4 seed Kentucky against No. 13 seed Belmont at Noon. Both games will be played at Memorial Coliseum. The winners will then meet on Sunday.

The Buckeyes are making their 24th NCAA Tournament and has an all-time record of 26-23. OSU has made eight Sweet 16 appearances including last season. The Buckeyes have advanced to the Elite Eight three times with its best run being a runner-up finish in 1993.

Western Kentucky won the Conference USA regular season and tournament title and will be making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Hilltoppers are also riding a 12-game win streak and haven't lost since Jan. 28. Ohio State and WKU met one time previously in the NCAA Tournament and that came in the 1993 Sweet 16. The Buckeyes won that game 86-73 en route to finishing as national runner-up.

Head coach Kevin McGuff is making his third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance with the Buckeyes and his ninth appearance overall as a head coach. He guided Xavier to the tournament six times from 2003-11 with a run to the Elite Eight in 2010.